ISNA’s Lies Unchallenged Again

In an otherwise important article published by Newsweek this past Wednesday (An Unwelcome Guest), reporters Mike Isikoff and Mark Hosenball detailed a Department of Justice outreach event, cancelled at the last minute because of one of the invitees was a high ranking official with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) - a potentially embarrassing fact since ISNA was recently named as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the current trial against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) in Dallas.....(Counterterrorism Blog, 11 Aug 07)

Don't let them terrorize our freedoms

……The basic freedom to discuss, analyze, debate, imagine and resist jihad is now under unprecedented assault……(Town Hall, 10 Aug 07)

3 Plead Not Guilty in ’05 London Bombings

Three men accused of conspiring with suicide bombers who killed 52 commuters on the London transport system in 2005 pleaded not guilty during a court hearing Friday….(AP, 10 Aug 07)

Canada Declassifies Papers on Rendition

Canadian intelligence officials suspected that a Syrian-born Canadian citizen detained by the U.S. in 2002 as a terror suspect and deported had been sent to a third country for torture as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program, according to documents declassified on Thursday……(AP, 10 Aug 07)

Detainees Ruled Enemy Combatants

All 14 high-value detainees who were transferred out of the CIA's secret prisons and into the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last September have been deemed "enemy combatants" after their status tribunal hearings held earlier this year, Pentagon officials said yesterday……(Washington Post, 10 Aug 07)

How Indonesia is Winning Its War on Terror

In early June, the Indonesian authorities made a stunning capture. After pursuing a suspected militant to a safe house in central Java, police say they shot him in the leg as he tried to flee. The target was Abu Dujana, the alleged head of the military wing of the extremist group Jemaah Islamiah (J.I.)…..(Time, 9 Aug 07)

Jihadist/Islamist Websites and Their Hosts (List II): Websites Supporting the Jihad in Iraq - Hosted in the U.S.

As part of their warfare against the Coalition forces in Iraq, terrorist organizations have been using cyberspace to enhance the psychological effect of their attacks within their ranks, to enhance recruitment, and to extend the reach of their propaganda. The following is a list of active Jihadist/Islamist websites supporting the jihad in Iraq, divided into four categories…..(MEMRI, 10 Aug 07)

Earlier Terrorist Screening to Begin for Flights Into U.S.

By early next year, passengers on flights bound for the United States will have their names checked against terrorist watch lists before departure, instead of after takeoff, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced Thursday……(New York Times, 10 Aug 07)

For Some in Oakland, Editor's Death Shows Subversion of Black Activism

….To some, the suspect's ties to a black Muslim bakery held a darker significance, a symbol that Oakland's radical black movement -- a history that spawned such national figures as Huey Newton and Angela Davis -- had over the years gone awry, and that the violence that infused parts of that tradition had been tolerated too long…..(Washington Post, 10 Aug 07)

Cross examination of FBI agent begins in HLF trial

Cross examination of government witness FBI Special Agent Lara Burns began Wednesday in the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) trial in Dallas, Texas……(Counterterrorism Blog, 10 Aug 07)

In Fort Dix plot case, lawyers object to secrecy on jury

The case of six men accused of plotting to attack soldiers on Fort Dix was so frightening and attracted so much interest that the judge and federal prosecutors in the case suggested going to trial unusually quickly and protecting the identity of jurors……(AP, 10 Aug 07)

Judge Rejects 'Defensive Jihad' Argument

Jurors who will soon debate the guilt or innocence of Jose Padilla and two other men on terrorism support charges cannot consider whether their actions were justified by Islamic law, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke agreed Thursday to a request from prosecutors to instruct the jurors that each of the men can be convicted even if they "may have believed that the conduct was religiously, politically or morally required, or that ultimate good would result."….(AP, 10 Aug 07)

Postal Security: Detecting Bio-Chemical Hazards and Weapons

In October 2003, an envelope marked "Caution: Ricin Poison" was discovered at an airmail facility in Greenville, South Carolina. Ricin is a poison that, in certain forms, can cause death………(FSM, 10 Aug 07)

'In the Land of the Blood Feuds'

….Al-Qaeda in Iraq is just one of myriad armed groups competing here for influence and authority……(Washington Post, 10 Aug 07)

Intimidation Campaign

What could the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) possibly have in common? CAIR founders had close ties to Hamas, Palestinian Sunni Islamic extremists. NIAC and its main spokesman, Trita Parsi, have become apologists for the regime in Tehran, which exports a rival Shiite brand of Islamic extremism……(FrontPage, 10 Aug 07)

NYPD terror adviser sued for 'anti-Islamic' messages

A Muslim analyst for the New York City Police Department is suing the city for workplace harassment, alleging he was subject to a regular stream of "anti-Islamic" messages from an e-mail list run by a former adviser who trained detectives in counter-terrorism…….(WorldNet Daily, 9 Aug 07)

Distorting Israel

Dr. Gerstenfeld has devised a new project which exposes how much of the world's media present Israel and the Middle East conflict in a negative light. His project reveals that if you use the tactics of media reporting and place these same parameters on any other country you could also make that country look bad……(FrontPage, 10 Aug 07)

Robert Spencer Takes Islamofascists at Their Word

Give Islamic extremists this: They are as clear as the desert sunshine about their plans for us infidels. Unlike America’s former Cold War enemies, who swaddled their barbed wire and ballistic missiles in warm words about proletarian liberation, Muslim hotheads state their intentions with disarming candor. “The wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said. “One of the primary responsibilities of the Muslim ruler is to spread Islam throughout the world,” said South Africa’s Mufti Ebrahim Desai……(Human Events, 10 Aug 07)

Holy Land trial turns to Israeli agent

The federal judge presiding over the Holy Land Foundation terror finance trial ordered his courtroom cleared of spectators Thursday as a secret agent for the Israeli Defense Forces took the stand. The agent, referred to only by the pseudonym Major Lior, testified through a translator about a cache of documents, videos and posters that his team of commandos seized during raids on several charity committees in the Palestinian territories between 2002 and 2004…..(Dallas Morning News, 9 Aug 07)

CAIR vs. Robert Spencer

It is one of the oddities of American politics that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) can describe itself as a "civil-liberties group" while crusading to crush the free-speech rights of its critics. But that's exactly what happened last week when CAIR deployed its legal arsenal in a bid to stop author Robert Spencer from speaking at a conference of the Young America's Foundation (YAF)…..(FrontPage, 9 Aug 07)

CAIR-Tampa’s Terror Defense Network and the Media

When two Tampa-area students were arrested near a South Carolina Naval base and charged with possession of explosive devices, a prominent Muslim leader in Southwest Florida rushed to their defense. The organization that he came from – the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – has been cited many times for its terrorist ties, even having been named as a co-conspirator in a terror trial. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the media, Bedier represents a credible source. One has to wonder, though, how long, after incidents such as these, that this farce will be able to sustain itself? …..(FrontPage, 9 Aug 07)

SAUDIS SUE FOR SECRECY

The Saudis' efforts to keep a veil of secrecy over their support for al Qaeda and Hamas got a shot in the arm last week, as a British publisher opted to suppress a controversial book on the financing of terror. Facing the mere threat of a lawsuit from Saudi billionaire Khalid bin Mahfouz, Cambridge University Press agreed to pulp all the unsold copies of "Alms of Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World," issue a public apology to Mahfouz and pay his legal expenses and substantial undisclosed damages……(New York Post, 9 Aug 07)

New York Times Blogger Solicits Ideas for Terror Attacks

If you were a terrorist, how would you attack? That's the question a New York Times blogger posed Wednesday on the newspaper's Web site. Steven D. Levitt, in a controversial posting on the paper's Freakonomics blog, has invited fellow bloggers to submit their worst-case scenarios for a terrorist attack…..(Fox News, 9 Aug 07)

Californian seeks hearing on Islamic, Mexican ties

A ranking House Republican yesterday demanded a hearing based on recent reports that Islamic terrorists embedded in the United States are teaming with Mexican drug cartels to fund terrorism networks overseas…The 2005 DEA report outlines several incidents in which multiple Middle Eastern drug-trafficking and terrorist cells in the U.S. are funding terrorism networks overseas with the aid of Mexican cartels. These sleeper cells use established Mexican cartels with highly sophisticated trafficking routes to move narcotics — and other contraband — in and out of the United States, the report said….(Washington Times, 9 Aug 07)

Israeli agent testifies against Muslim charity in U.S. in terrorism funding case

Prosecutors and lawyers for a Muslim charity accused of funding terrorists clashed Thursday over whether jurors should see documents that Israeli soldiers seized during raids of Palestinian organizations. An Israeli agent testified about the documents during the trial of five leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development…..(AP, 9 Aug 07)

2,760 non-Iraqi detainees in Iraqi jails, 800 Iranians – official

Up to 2,760 non-Iraqis are locked up in Iraqi jails, among them 800 Iranians, the Iraqi delegation to an international security meeting in Damascus revealed on Wednesday. The rest include Arabs and foreigners. ..... "Among the detainees are Arabs and others from Afghanistan and Iran, the latter's citizens entered Iraq claiming they would visit religious shrines."…..(KUNA, 9 Aug 07)

Studies: Suicide bombers in Iraq are mostly foreigners

…The studies report that the number of suicide bombings in Iraq has now surpassed those conducted worldwide since the early 1980s. The findings suggest that extremists from throughout the region and around the world are fueling Iraq's violence. "The war on terrorism— and certainly the war in Iraq — has failed in decreasing the number of suicide attacks and has really radicalized the Muslim world to create this concept of martyrs without borders," said Mohammed Hafez , a visiting professor at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and the author of one of the two studies….(McClatchy Newspapers, 9 Aug 07)

Suicide Bombers Seen As Phantoms Of Death

So how do average Iraqis regard these phantoms who suddenly appear to transform sidewalks, shops, and even public buses into bloodbaths? Mostly, they view them as so incomprehensible that they label them all foreigners, saying Iraq itself has no tradition of such perverse actions. Simpleminded Victims: But not everyone on the street agrees with that easy explanation. There are also people who regard the suicide bombers themselves as victims -- as simple individuals who have been brainwashed to destroy themselves and others…..(RFE/RL, 9 Aug 07)

Afghanistan at Odds With U.S. on Plan to Curb Opium

Afghanistan is at odds with a U.S. strategy to stem opium production that is funding the Taliban and other militants opposed to President Hamid Karzai's rule, according to a top Afghan diplomat.….(Bloomberg, 9 Aug 07)

Al-Qaeda bolsters fighters network in Iraq, US Commander

A US Commander in Iraq said Wednesday al-Qaeda leadership in Iraq bolstered its foreign fighter facilitation network in recent weeks ahead of September's Washington deadline to evaluate US troops surge in Iraq.….(KUNA, 9 Aug 07)

Moroccan Liberal Abdelhamid Assassi: International Community Must Save Arab Society from 'Pernicious and Lethal Disease' of Islamism

In a July 23, 2007 op-ed on the liberal website Bila Hudud, Moroccan Berber author Abdelhamid Assassi writes that the vast majority of the Muslim world lives in ignorance and would prefer Osama bin Laden to secular democracy. He argues that these societies must, with help from the international community, take a difficult path towards secularization…..(MEMRI, 9 Aug 07)

New website aims to counter Islamic extremism

Islamic scholars and teachers in Singapore said Wednesday they had launched a website aimed at countering extremist ideology used to recruit militants and justify attacks like suicide bombings. The website, http://www.rrg.sg, was launched Tuesday by the Religious Rehabilitation Group, a volunteer organisation comprised of about 30 Islamic scholars and teachers from the city-state’s Muslim community…..(Khaleej Times, 9 Aug 07)

CAIR Sees 'Islamophobia' Behind Terrorist Claims

Smear campaigns organized through a network of "small but vocal anti-Muslim bigots" are driving allegations of terrorist ties now facing the Council on American Muslim Relations (CAIR), according to document recently released by the group. However, Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, sees duplicity in CAIR's rhetoric. The organization's claim to moderation does not square with its activities, financial ties and hiring practices, Spencer said…..(CNS News, 9 Aug 07)

Video: Moderate and Extremist Islam

Britain Under Attack

With Britain facing a 'severe' level of terror threat, Dispatches investigates the roots of Islamic extremism in the UK and examines the government's attempts to win the battle for British Muslims' hearts and minds...Haras Rafiq, a government advisor on preventing extremism, tells Rees that between 15 and 20 per cent of British Muslims sympathize with Islamic militancy. To understand why there appears to be so much support for taking up arms, Rees examines the fundamental tenets of Islam that lie behind global jihad - such as 'Ummah' - a notion of Islamic brotherhood which encourages Muslims to act on behalf of one another - which can cause conflict with notions of patriotism…..(Channel4, 8 Aug 07)

Report: 5 Minute Guide: War on Terror

Plight Deepens for Baghdad's Last Jews

They number only eight, but are caretakers of a story stretching back 2,600 years. Now, it's up to the last Jews of Baghdad to decide whether to remain or flee their ancient home. An Anglican clergyman who watches over the remaining Jewish families says they are increasingly desperate to emigrate to the Netherlands, where there is an active Iraqi Jewish community….(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Egyptian Court in Controversial Ruling: Christians Who Convert to Islam Cannot Convert Back

A public debate has been underway in Egypt over the regime's treatment of the country's Christians. This debate emerged following lawsuits by Christians who had converted to Islam and then reconverted to Christianity, and who were now demanding that the Egyptian Interior Ministry issue them new official documents in their original names and with "Christian" in the "religion" entry field…..(MEMRI, 8 Aug 07)

Violence in Jabalpur over alleged disrespect to Quran

Muslims clashed with police on Wednesday as rumours of alleged disrespect to the Holy Quran spread across the city. A police officials said to have shown disrespect to the Quran by putting it down on the floor, while frisking a visitor to a prison. Within a matter of minutes, scores of Muslims protested in various parts of the city……(Times of India, 8 Aug 07)

No action on Iraqi interpreters for months

The Government will make no decision for several months on the plight of Iraqi interpreters working with the British army in Basra, the Defence Secretary warned this morning. Numerous interpreters have been kidnapped, tortured and killed by Iraqi militiamen who accuse them of collaboration with their country's occupiers. The threat is so grave that the Danish Government recently flew all 60 of its interpreters back to Denmark when its troop contingent left Iraq……(Times Online, 8 Aug 07)

Maliki Signs Accord With Turkey to Counter Kurdish Rebels

The U.S. military announced on Tuesday the deaths of three American soldiers late last week, bringing the total of U.S. deaths in Iraq in August to 19. Meanwhile, Turkey and Iraq agreed Tuesday to work together to halt cross-border attacks being staged by Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq…..(Washington Post, 8 Aug 07)

General Blames Clerical Errors In the Case of Missing Arms

Bookkeeping deficiencies allowed thousands of weapons issued to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005 to then go missing, Gen. David H. Petraeus…"Some percentage" of weapons the U.S. military provided to the Iraqi army and Iraqi police units were not tracked by serial number because there were no procedures in place to do so within the Iraqi units From a practical standpoint, Petraeus added, it was more important to get the weapons to the Iraqis as they started to enter the fight against a strong insurgency than it was to keep meticulous records….(Washington Post, 8 Aug 07)

Turkey, Iraq agree to target Kurd rebels

Turkey and Iraq agreed yesterday to try to root out a Kurdish rebel group from northern Iraq, but Iraq's prime minister said his parliament would have the final say on efforts to halt the guerrillas' cross-border attacks into Turkey. Turkey has threatened to send troops into northern Iraq unless Iraq or the United States cracked down on the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which seeks greater autonomy for mostly Kurdish regions of southeastern Turkey….(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Afghan-Pakistan peace meeting will struggle for results after Musharraf pulls out

…Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement that Musharraf had phoned his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Wednesday to say he can't attend because of "engagements" in Islamabad, and that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will take his place. The absence of Musharraf, Pakistan's army chief and most powerful figure, could further undermine the effectiveness of the "peace jirga" due to start in Kabul on Thursday….(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Afghan-Pakistani Parley Seeks Unity Against Extremism

…as 700 tribal elders and officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan gather here this week for a four-day peace conference aimed at finding ways for the quarrelsome neighbor countries to collaborate in the war against Islamic insurgents, the weight of historical suspicions will be battling the common urgency of the moment…..(Washington Post, 8 Aug 07)

Pak’s fierce Pashtun tribes in terror spotlight

When tribal elders gather in Kabul to thrash out a strategy to deal with a resurgent Taleban, the spotlight will fall on the equivocal role played by the fierce tribes who inhabit the mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan border in the global fight against terrorism. About 700 elders, Islamic clerics and other leaders from Pakistan and Afghanistan are due to meet in the Afghan capital this week….(Agence France-Presse, 8 Aug 07)

Fatah Islam No. 2 Killed in Lebanon

The No. 2 commander of al-Qaida-inspired militants battling Lebanese troops was killed in the fighting in recent days, the group said in a statement posted Wednesday on an Islamic Web site. Fatah Islam said its deputy commander known as Abu Hureira has been killed in the fighting around a refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The statement gave no details as to the circumstances of his death…..(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Iraq security talks open in Syria

Representatives of Iraq's neighbors and the global community, including the United States and its arch-foe Iran, opened talks in Damascus on Wednesday aimed at restoring security in the violence-plagued nation. The meeting began just as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Iran on a visit aimed at winning Tehran's full support for restoring security to his country and continuing talks with the United States…..(Agence France-Presse, 8 Aug 07)

Morocco jails eight officers on al-Qaeda plot leak

A Moroccan military court has sentenced eight army officers to up to five years in prison for leaking military intelligence information about an al-Qaeda plot, lawyers and court officials said on Wednesday…..(YNet, 8 Aug 07)

Arizona mosque targeted in "acid bomb" attack

Police in Arizona said two unidentified men tossed a bottle filled with acid at a Phoenix area mosque early on Monday, splashing a caustic chemical near a Muslim cleric involved in a high-profile discrimination suit. A Glendale Police Department spokesman said two men driving in a red car threw a soda bottle filled with acid and a reactant at the Albanian American Islamic Center of Arizona, in Glendale, west of Phoenix…The bottle, which contained pool cleaner and strips of tin foil, burst some 20-25 feet away from Imam Didmar Faja and another mosque official….(Reuters, 8 Aug 07)

Indian Doctor Sues for Australian Visa

Mohamed Haneef, 27, was arrested in the eastern city of Brisbane on July 2 and charged with supporting failed terror attacks in London and Glasgow, Scotland, in June. Police later dropped the charge because of a lack of evidence, and Haneef was freed to return home to Bangalore, India, to see his wife and newborn daughter. But Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews revoked Haneef's work visa on character grounds, citing his association with second cousins Sabeel and Kafeel Ahmed, who were allegedly involved in the plots….(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Britain Asks U.S. To Free 5 Detainees
…The move signals a new direction for the British government, which during the tenure of Prime Minister Tony Blair had said it was not obliged to intervene on behalf of detainees who did not hold British citizenship… In a statement, the British government said that "discussions with the U.S. Government about the release and return of these five men may take some time" and that "should these men be returned to the U.K., the same security considerations and actions will apply to them as would apply to any other foreign national in this country."…..(Washington Post, 8 Aug 07)

Profile: The five Guantanamo detainees

Release of inmates from Guantanamo leaves Britain facing a security headache

MI5 is to draw up detailed contingency plans for the return of five Guantanamo Bay inmates to Britain, including one accused of having trained at al-Qaeda camps to carry out terrorist attacks in the West… But the return of the men — which Washington indicated was likely in the near future — will present ministers with a security headache….(Times Online, 8 Aug 07)

Britain Asks to Take Back 5 Guantánamo Detainees

…..(New York Times, 8 Aug 07)

U.S. Embassy Warns of Yemen Terrorists

The U.S. Embassy in Yemen has warned Americans here to reduce their profile because the country is experiencing "previously unseen" terrorist actions. In a message dated Monday to Americans living in Yemen, the embassy said the terrorist threat was not temporary. It urged Americans to avoid large groups of Westerners, vary their travel routes and times to and from work and limit travel within the capital, San'a……(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Raid in Iraq Kills 32 Suspected Militants

A U.S.-led raid and airstrike targeting networks allegedly smuggling weapons and fighters from Iran killed 32 suspected militants Wednesday in Baghdad's Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, the military said. Word of the raid came after Iraqi police in Sadr City had said that a bombardment by U.S. helicopters and armored vehicles had killed nine civilians, including two women, and wounded six others. The police also said 12 people were detained….(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Iraqi Prime Minister Arrives in Iran

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Iran on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on bilateral relations and overcoming ''terrorism challenges'' in his war-torn nation. It was the Iraqi premier's second visit to Tehran in less than a year. Iraq, which like Iran is majority Shiite Muslim…..(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Explosion wounds five policemen in Pakistan''s tribal district

Militants attacked a police checkpost in a northern tribal district with explosive materials and wounded five policemen, said an official Wednesday….(KUNA, 8 Aug 07)

Taliban Attack U.S.-Led Coalition Base

…The insurgents attacked Firebase Anaconda from three sides, using gunfire, grenades and 107 mm rockets, the coalition said. A joint Afghan-U.S. force repelled the attack with mortars, machine guns and air support…..(AP, 8 Aug 07)

Al Qaeda springs the Istanbul bomber from jail

It has been revealed that Saadettin Aktaş, one of the bombers in the Istanbul bombings which took place November 15-20th, 2003, who has been detained in the jail in Mosul and whose return was requested by Turkey, has escaped from jail with Al Qaeda's help…..(Sabah, 8 Aug 07)

Mehdi militia takes on U.S. in Baghdad

At least eight Iraqis were killed Wednesday in street fighting between Mehdi militia and U.S. troops in Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City neighborhood. The exchange lasted about three hours, and Interior Ministry officials told CNN at least 10 other people were injured…..(UPI, 8 Aug 07)

US treads delicately in Taleban hostage crisis

Under pressure from close ally South Korea to help free 21 South Korean hostages being held by the Taleban in Afghanistan, Washington is treading delicately, seeing few viable choices to force an acceptable solution, analysts say. “I don’t see a lot of really attractive options here,” Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at the US think tank the Council on Foreign Relations…..(Agence France-Presse, 8 Aug 07)

Iran Muzzles and Executes Dissenters Under Sharia Law

Frenzied shouts of “Allah akbar” (“Allah is great”) accompanied seven Iranians on their death walk Wednesday. Moments later, executioners kicked the stools supporting their weight out from beneath their feet, and cords around their necks cut their fall sickeningly short. Accompanying the victims’ final few spasmodic kicks, the crowd of onlookers and a mullah howled, “Alhamd li-Allah” (“Praise be to Allah”)…..(Trumpet, 7 Aug 07)

Sky Video: Muslim Radicals Being Groomed In London

'Only Radical Muslims Are Listening to Me'

Sky News has uncovered disturbing evidence of efforts to radicalise young Muslims in the east London borough at the heart of an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic passenger jets. Back in Waltham Forest, a year after the arrests of a dozen terror suspects, the police cordons have gone but little else has changed…..(Sky, 7 Aug 07)

Channel 4 platform for radical who wants 'war'

Bosses at Channel 4 are under fire for offering a platform to an Islamic extremist who said he would be happy to be labelled a terrorist and called on fellow Muslims to arm themselves against non-believers. Using the name "Abu Muhammed", the man was interviewed with his features disguised by a scarf as he claimed British Muslims were "at war" with the government and said the July 7 bombings were "very justified''…..(Telegraph, 7 Aug 07)

Treasury Designates Al-Salah Society Key Support Node for Hamas

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated the Al-Salah Society, one of the largest and best-funded Hamas charitable organizations in the Palestinian territories.  Al-Salah Society's director, Ahmad Al-Kurd, was also designated today. "Hamas has used the Al-Salah Society, as it has many other charitable fronts, to finance its terrorist agenda," said Adam Szubin, Director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).  "Today's action alerts the world to the true nature of Al-Salah and cuts it off from the U.S. financial system."…..(US Dept. of Treasury Press Release, 7 Aug 07)

Pakistan's Next Red Mosque Problem?

In Pakistan's lawless tribal areas along its border with Afghanistan, some places are less wild than others. The Mohmand Agency, just a half hour drive from the city of Peshawar, had long been known as the calmest and most moderate in the region and over the past few years managed to avoid the Talibanization and violence of its neighbors…At midnight one day in late July, more than 200 heavily armed young men identifying themselves as Taliban stormed the shrine of a famous freedom fighter in the tranquil village of Ghaziabad and took over the adjacent mosque. The heavily armed militants, their faces covered with camouflaged balaclavas, kicked out the shrine and mosque caretakers and put up sandbag bunkers atop the mosque roof and nearby vantage points. They renamed the mosque Lal Masjid — that is, the Red Mosque — after the seminary in Islamabad….(Time Magazine, 7 Aug 07)

In Kuwait, Public Protest Against Law Banning Women From Working Nights

The Kuwaiti parliament recently passed a law banning women from working between eight PM and seven AM except in the medical sector. The law further bans women from engaging in work in which they would use their femininity in a way that is "counter to general moral values," or from working in businesses providing services for men only…..(MEMRI, 7 Aug 07)

Investigation Reveals Ties Between Turkish al-Qaeda and Iraq

A firefight with U.S. military forces on June 23 near the town of Hawija in northern Iraq exposed the presence of Turkish al-Qaeda operatives. It also revealed their probable role in facilitating a flow of jihadis to Al-Qaeda in Iraq on behalf of al-Qaeda, as well as the identities of two of the operatives and their backgrounds and roles… Additional details provided since that time as a result of the continuing investigation by U.S. military authorities serve to reinforce the validity of the implications reported in Terrorism Focus on July 10……(Global Terrorism Analysis, 7 Aug 07)

In Iraqi south, Shiites press for autonomy

When Najaf unplugged its power station from the national grid last week, it was a sign of provincial dissent over the unequal distribution of electricity. But it also indicates a new assertiveness in the south, as Iraq's regional leaders seek to wrest control from a central government in Baghdad paralyzed by political infighting…..(Reuters, 7 Aug 07)

Taliban and al Qaeda Find 'Safe Haven' in Pakistan's No Man's Land

With Pashtun tribesmen gathered around him, a bearded man clad in militia garb and with a gun clinging to his shoulder issued a directive on behalf of the local Taliban commander: "Any looter disguised as Taliban must be shot and killed on the spot to restore peace." Later, the same message was repeated on loudspeakers from various mosques in the town. The Taliban, who operate widely in this largely lawless region, apparently are concerned that ordinary bandits are hurting their relations with the local tribes. Or they just want to show that they remain a force, perhaps the only real authority, operating here….(US News, 7 Aug 07)

The Crown and the Koran: Toronto imam serves both

…Crown prosecutors and defence lawyers working on Canada's most high-profile terrorism case came to a realization earlier this summer: Some of the young offenders charged in the case were going to be let off. However, simply withdrawing the charges against a couple of teenagers accused of participating in a Northern Ontario terrorist training camp was out of the question. Instead, lawyers agreed the charges should be stayed - and, after a year, if the suspects adhered to a set of conditions, the charges would be dropped completely. One of those conditions involved attending counselling with a local Muslim leader…They turned to Mr. (Hamid) Slimi. With two masters degrees and a doctorate in Islamic law, the Moroccan-born Canadian has academic authority. He also has 10 years' experience as an imam and chaplain in Canada, and a long history of working with Jewish, Christian and non-denominational groups….(Globe & Mail, 7 Aug 07)

Nigerian Militants Target Children in Kidnap-for-Ransom Schemes

In Nigeria's delta region, where large oil and gas resources are located, there are various armed groups threatening stability. These groups range from youth gangs to more organized militias to vigilantes… in recent weeks some of these groups have begun to target children—both Nigerian and foreign—in kidnap-for-ransom schemes. As a result, a new and alarming dimension has been introduced to the siege on the Niger Delta……(Global Terrorism Analysis, 7 Aug 07)

AQIM Renews its Threats Against France

In July, newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Algiers to reaffirm France's "deep friendship" with the Maghreb and present his project of a "Mediterranean Union" designed to promote a strong and durable relationship between the Maghreb and Europe